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Ely. But, my good Lord,

How now for mitigation of this bill,

Urg'd by the Commons? doth his Majefty
Incline to it, or no?

Cant. He feems indifferent;

Or rather swaying more upon our part,
Than cherishing th' exhibiters against us.
For I have made an offer to his Majefty,
Upon our fpiritual Convocation,

And in regard of caufes now in hand
Which I have open'd to his Grace at large
As touching France, to give a greater Sum,
Than ever at one time the Clergy yet
Did to his predeceffors part withal.

Ely. How did this offer feem receiv'd, my Lord? Cant. With good acceptance of his Majesty; Save that there was not time enough to hear As, I perceiv'd, his Grace would fain have done The feverals, and unhidden paffages

8

Of his true titles to fome certain Dukedoms,
And, generally, to the Crown and feat of France,
Deriv'd from Edward his great grandfather.

Ely. What was th' impediment, that broke this off?
Cant. The French Ambaffador upon that instant
Crav'd audience, and the hour, I think, is come
To give him hearing. Is it four o'clock ?
Ely. It is.

Cant. Then go we in to know his embaffy;
Which I could with a ready guess declare,
Before the Frenchman fpeaks a word of it.
Ely. I'll wait upon you, and I long to hear it.

The feverals, and unbidden palaces] This line I fufpect of corruption, though it may be fairly enough explained; the

[Exeunt.

palages of his titles are the lines of fuccefion, by which his claims defcend. Unhidden is open, clear.

SCENE

1

SCENE II,

Opens to the Prefence.

Enter King Henry, Gloucester, Bedford, Clarence, Warwick, Weftmorland, and Exeter.

K. Henry. V
WH

HERE is my gracious Lord of
Canterbury?

Exe. Not here in prefence.

K. Henry. Send for him, good uncle.

Weft. Shall we call in th' ambaffador, my Liege?" K. Henry. Not yet, my coufin; we would be refolv'd, Before we hear him, of fome things of weight, That task our thoughts, concerning us and France. Enter the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop of Ely. Cant. God and his angels guard your facred throne, And make you long become it!

K. Henry. Sure, we thank you.

My learned Lord, we pray you to proceed;
And justly and religiously unfold,

Why the law Salike, that they have in France,
Or fhould, or should not, bar us in our claim. ́.
And, God forbid, my dear and faithful Lord,
That you should fashion, wrest, or bow your reading;
Or nicely charge your understanding foul'
With opening titles † mifcreate, whofe right
Suites not in native colours with the truth.
For, God doth know, how many now in health
Shall drop their blood, in approbation
Of what your reverence fhall incite us to.

9 Shall we call in, &c.] Here began the old play. POPE. tak] Keep bufied" with fcruples and laborious difquifitions.

**

Or nicely charge your underftanding foul] Take heed left by nice and fubtle fophiftry you burthen your knowing foul,

or knowingly burthen your fou', with the guilt of advancing a falfe title, or of maintaining, by fpecious fallacies, a claim which, if thewn in its native and true colours, would appear to be false.

+ mifcreate-] Il-begotten; illegitimate; fpurious.

Therefore

Therefore take heed, how you impawn our perfon,
How you awake our fleeping fword of war
We charge you in the name of God, take heed.
For never two fuch kingdoms did contend
Without much fall of blood; whofe guiltless drops
Are every one a woe, a fore complaint,

'Gainst him, whofe wrong gives edge unto the fwords,
That make fuch wafte in brief mortality.
Under this conjuration, fpeak, my Lord;
For we will hear, note, and believe in heart,
That what you speak is in your confcience wafht,
As pure as fin with baptifm.

Cant. Then hear me, gracious Sovereign, and you
Peers,

That owe your lives, your faith, and fervices,
To this imperial throne. There is no bar 3
To make against your Highnefs' claim to France,
But this which they produce from Pharamond;
In terram Salicam Mulieres nè fuccedant ;
No Woman fhall fucceed in Salike land:
Which Salike land the French unjustly glofs
To be the realm of France, and Pharamond
The founder of this law and female bar.
Yet their own authors faithfully affirm,
That the land Salike lies in Germany,
Between the floods of Sala and of Elve,

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.

Where Charles the great, having fubdu'd the Saxons,
There left behind and fettled certain French,
Who, holding in difdain the German women,
For fome difhoneft manners of their life,
Fftablish'd then this law; to wit, no female
Should be inheritrix in Salike land,
Which Salike, as I faid, 'twixt Elve and Sala,
Is at this day in Germany call'd Meifen.
Thus doth it well appear, the Salike law
Was not devifed for the realm of France;
Nor did the French poffefs the Salike land,
Until four hundred one and twenty years
After defunction of King Pharamond,
Idly fuppos'd the founder of this law;
Who died within the year of our redemption
Four hundred twenty-fix; and Charles the great,
Subdu'd the Saxons, and did feat the French
Beyond the river Sala in the year

Eight hundred five. Befides, their writers fay,
King Pepin, which depofed Childerick,
Did as heir general, being defcended

Of Blithild, which was daughter to King Clothair,
Make claim and title to the Crown of France.
Hugh Capet allo, who ufurp'd the Crown

Of Charles the Duke of Lorain, fole heir male
Of the true line and ftock of Charles the great,
To fine his title with fome fhews of truth,

Though, in pure truth, it was corrupt and naught,
Convey'd himself as heir to th' Lady Lingare,
Daughter to Charlemain, who was the fon

To Lewis th' Emperor, which was the fon
Of Charles the great.

Alfo King Lewis the ninth,

4 To fine his title, &c.] This is the reading of the 4to of 1608, that of the folio is, To find bis title. I would read,

To line his title with shows of truth.

To line may fignify at once to

decorate and to ftrengthen.
In Macbeth:

He did line the rebels with hid den help and vantage.

Dr. Warburton fays, that to fine his title, is to refine or improve it. The reader is to judge. Who

Who was fole heir to the ufurper Capet,
Could not keep quiet in his conscience,
Wearing the Crown of France, 'till fatisfy'd
That fair Queen Ifabel, his grandmother,
Was lineal of the lady Ermengere,

Daughter to Charles the forefaid Duke of Lorain:
By the which match the line of Charles the great
Was re-united to the Crown of France.
So that, as clear as is the fummer's fun,
King Pepin's title, and Hugh Capet's claim,
King Lewis' Satisfaction, all appear

To hold in right and title of the female;
So do the Kings of France until this day,
Howbeit they would hold up this Salike law,
To bar your Highnefs claiming from the female;
And rather chufe to hide them in a net,

Than amply to imbare their crooked titles,

Ufurpt from you and your progenitors.

K. Henry. May I with right and conscience make this claim?

Cant. The fin upon my head, dread Sovereign!
For in the book of Numbers it is writ,

When the fon dies, let the inheritance
Defcend unto the daughter. Gracious Lord,
Stand for your own, unwind your bloody flag,
Look back into your mighty ancestors;

Go, my dread Lord, to your great grandfire's tomb,
From whom you claim; invoke his warlike fpirit,

Mr. Pope reads:

Than openly imbrace ] But where is the Antithefis betwixt hide in the preceding Line, and imbrace in this? The two old Folio's read, Than amply to imbarreWe certainly must read, as Mr. Warburton advis'd me,-Than amply to imbare-lay open, difplay to View. I am furpriz'd Mr. Pope did not ftart this Conjecture, as Mr. Rowe has led the way to it

in his Edition, who reads;
Than amply to make bare their

crooked Titles. THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald might have found in the quarto of 1608, this reading,

Than amply to embrace their crooked caufes, out of which line Mr. Pope formed his reading, erroneous indeed, but not merely capricious. Bb 2

And

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